Derek said nothing for a second, before leaning forward a little and uncrossing his arms. "I agree. Alexis, pull back. We didn't have to get this close to scan the signal...."

Alexis nodded. "Hai, Derek-sama. Reversing direction now--"

A sudden warning from the alarm caught everyone's attention. "Derek-sama, we've identified the signal!" Fuyume reported from her monitor" It's a mobile suit!"

"Not just any mobile suit..." Alexis spoke gravely, as she read the ID code. "It's..."

----

~Outside the ship~

"SURPRISE!!!!"

As the familiar voice called out, the Zephyr burst up out from the trees several hundred meters away, and pointed at the Tsubasa. "Hey guys, didja miss me?" Kanzaki called out, before holding up his other hand as five Gespensts rose up behind him. "Well, we missed you!"

With a forward wave from the Zephyr, the Gespensts charged.

----

"Kanzaki!"

That was all Derek was able to say before the Gespensts began opening fire, causing the ship to shudder. "Dammit!" He slammed his chair with his fist. "Ready the forward guns! I want those rustbuckets blown out of the sky!"

"Hai Captain-san!" Ryutaros belted out as he took aim. Even as he fired, however, the five Gespensts began moving in unpredictable directions, dodging the shots.

"Those damn Gespensts again!" Barona swore, recognizing the movements of the enemy units. "We need to get out there and deal with this."

"I'll do it, Derek-sama!" Fuyume volunteered, suddenly jumping out of her monitor and then disappearing from sight. Her voice came back up over the comm. "Fei-chan, launching!"

----

Even before the Fei-Yen had actually launched off the deck of the ship, she was already firing at the approaching Gespensts, causing them to scatter again to dodge. As one did, however, she dashed straight for it and slashed it in half with her sword, then turned around and skewered a second one that had charged up behind her.

"You bakas aren't so tough after all!" She said with a laugh....right before suddenly getting tackled at high speed by the Zephyr. "YEEEEK~!!!"

"Ah, the Blue Wings School of Mecha Combat!" Kanzaki commented cheerfully as he flew, holding on to Fuyume. "Lesson One: When you're winning, gloat!"

----

"WAAAAAAAAAH~!!!!!" Fuyume's sobbing cry came in over the comm. "Let go of meeeeeeee~!!!!!"

"Son of a...!!!!" Derek let out, before checking himself and looking around at the others. "Well, what are you waiting for? Someone get out there and help her!"

"You heard 'em! " Ash yelled at Momotaros "Prep 21 for launch now!"

"Ya don't hafta tell me twice!" Momotaros said as he dived into the system.

"Ura, take over here." Ash said to the other Taros, putting on his helmet. He then stood up and started towards the exit. "I'm going to get down there and take care of this!"

Another alarm, however, cut Ash's dash for the door short. "More enemies detected, seven o'clock low!" Alexis reported right before they appeared on the radar display. "Five more Gespensts!"

"Dammit!" Derek swore again. "That's one of our blinds!" He quickly looked over at at Ash and Ura both. "All we've got working on that section is a sub gun, and the fire controls aren't linked to Ryu's station. ONE of you tell me you can work it."

"I'll get it." Ash said, running over to the sub gun station and jumping into the chair. "I'm a better shot then Ura, anyway."

"I'll go help Sempai. The sooner we get the Grungust ready, the better." Ura said, getting up and jumping into his station as well.

"Alright." Derek nodded, leaning forward in his chair. "Ready the gun, and fire at will!"

"Roger that, Captain." Ash said with a cocky grin on his face as he armed the controls. "Let's show 'em some fireworks, Ryu!"

----

From her seat inside the Ashsaber, Rena sat and waited quietly for the signal, which came when a status report beeped, from her monitor. Slowly, she opened her eyes and glanced at the screen. "Shot down two already...." She spoke out loud, uncrossing her arms and starting up the machine. "I suppose I'll have to get involved after all...."

----

"Another contact!" Alexis reported, checking her screen. "It's coming from the same direction!"

"Another one, eh? I'll just take him out, too." Ash said as he took aim.

"Today is the day of reckoning, Black Wings." A familiar voice suddenly cut in over the comm. "This time, you won't escape!"

"That voice....!" Alexis said with a gasp, recognizing it. "It's....!!!"

Derek's hand began to clench uncontrollably into a fist as he heard the voice, and with it, realized just how much trouble they were really in....

"....Rena....!!!!"

----

Even as a third Gespenst was blown apart in front of her, Rena's Ashsaber sped straight for the Tsubasa, two hatches opening up on the front of her machine as she fired a volley of Burning Dagger missiles. Though the Tsubasa's E Field caught most of them, a few of the explosives broke through and impacted against the side of the ship, rocking it hard. Not finished yet, she brought the Gun Rapier in her left hand to bear and fired, strafing the ship as she did so to allow for maximum coverage across the defensive field.

Seeing the protective shield around the ship starting to give in and allow more and more shots through, Rena let a small twinge of a smirk creep into her expression as she armed her next weapon. "It's time to finish this. Sword Breakers, go!"

With that, she launched the six bit units positioned on her shoulders, waiting back while they did the work for her. The six Breakers all spread out, avoiding the countershots being aimed at them, and all took off in different directions around the Tsubasa. While one would stop and tag the ship every once in awhile, they didn't make any real moves on the ship aside from circling around it to keep out of any potential firing angles.

Then, without any warning, all six units suddenly turned on the Tsubasa as one and began firing. The constant shots, combined with the beam rifle attacks still being fired from the surviving Gespensts, proved to be enough to finally shut down the E Field for good. As soon as the barrier was gone, the Breakers zipped in, picking out and crashing into every exposed gunport on the outside of the ship. As they did, each Breaker armed it's own gun and fired at point blank, skewering the weaponry and completely destroying them. By the time the Sword Breakers finally had to return to the Ashsaber, the Tsubasa had been left completely defenseless.

----

In response to the constant bombardment from the enemy, the Tsubasa had achieved a state of constant shaking, until the Breakers finally destroyed all of the cannons, causing one large violent shudder to rock the ship, just before both gunner stations shut down. Ash's in particular gave off a nasty spray of sparks before the safeties kicked in and killed power to the console entirely.

"Son of a....!!!" Ash yelled at the sparks.

"Captain-san, you wouldn't happen to have another gunner station, would you?" Ryutaors asked quietly.

"If I did, you'd already be at it." Derek snapped in response, as he got up from his chair. "Screw it. If it's a fight with me she wants, then that's what she's gonna--"

Barona stopped as he heard that, and turned to look. "Transports? But, why in the hell would--" He suddenly stopped as his eyes involuntarily widened from under his visor. "You CAN'T be serious!!!!"

----

As soon as he said it, the ship shook again as two of the surviving Gespensts landed on the deck of the ship, walking over to the starboard hangar door and proceeding to blast it open. As soon as it was cleared, the two machines entered, while the other three encircled the Tsubasa, awaiting the two oncoming transport planes.

The two Tausends both came in at docking vectors, and proceeded to land on the deck of the ship. As soon as they did, the back hatches opened, and strange-looking soldiers walked out in perfect formation. If one were to take a guess, they might say the enemies looked more like mechs than actual soldiers. One hundred of these figures walked out onto the deck of the ship, headed for the open hangar door.

----

From up on the bridge, everyone watched this turn of events unfold without a word, until Derek finally broke the silence himself. "I figured out their plan. They're not trying to kill us....."

"....They're trying to capture the ship."

dragonmasterjb0: Apparently, in the new series, Lina is arrested at one point on charges of being Lina Inverse.

The rest of the party, in typical Slayers fashion, gives a reaction to the effect of "Sounds reasonable."

Wandering the corridors, Jaybee comes across Bright and Sakura talking. He eavesdrops for a minute, then steps out, flicking the brim of his hat.

Howdy, pardners. Y'all plannin' on writin' me out? Bright cocks an eyebrow at this latest eccentricity.Thought I was our spec-ops person. Am I only good for the odd loaner battleship and fighter squadrons now?

Sakura, you should be having this talk with someone actually IN CHARGE, not the Durageiz' captain. Bright, you shouldn't be encouraging this.This whole meeting stinks. I don't like to pull rank, but if I hear about either of you plotting like this again... there will be consequences. Are we crystal clear on that?

Spinning around, Jaybee stalks off without waiting for an answer. A part of him suggests that he over-reacted, and really should've listened to their responses.

That part was drowned out by the parts screaming bloody murder about the return of Rodriguez, Chris' betrayal, Richard's sabotage, Shara's near-death, Derek's ambush, and one part that was just annoyed on principle. It'd been a busy day, in a very bad way, and it'd left Jaybee on-edge and more than a little snippy.

Kanzaki's question came right around the time he let go of the Fei-Yen, letting it drop to the ground and land unceremoniously in a pile before landing several meters away. "You don't know where the classrooms are, no one's willing to be your friend for at least a month, and the teacher doesn't tell you about the school trip until it's too late to get together the money for it. Bum deal all around, really."

"Itai itai itai itai...." Fuyume slowly managed back onto her feet and went into a ready position. "You! You're the guy who tried to kidnap Derek-sama before!"

"That I am!" Kanz confirmed as he took a bow. "I thought it went rather well, all things considered. I mean, sure, I didn't get to actually kill him, but everything up to that point went just as it was supposed to. Well...." He looked away for a second, his hands clenching involuntarily. "Almost everything." Shaking his head, he looked back at Fuyume and shrugged. "But hey, if at first you don't succeed, try it again, right?"

"That's what you think!" The AI girl challenged, firing several shots from her bow gun before following up with a charge. "I won't let you lay a finger on Derek-sama!"

The Zephyr dodged the shots with a few acrobatic moves, and then jumped backwards to avoid the blade that would have otherwise run him through. "Feisty!" He jeered, ducking and weaving with the sword slashes to dodge them. "Derek's always liked girls with....personality. Makes up for his lack of it, I guess."

"How...How dare you!" Fuyume actually snarled, lunging for the other machine and firing at the same time. "I'll make you regret insulting Derek-sama like that!"

Though she couldn't see his face, Kanzaki was grinning as he continued to dodge the assault. "Blue Wings School of Mecha Combat, Lesson Two!" He replied casually as he jumped the Fei-Yen's lunge and dashed backwards again, distancing himself from the pink mech. "Don't gloat unless you can back it up!"

Ready as she was to continue fighting, Fuyume hesitated for a second as she turned around. ".....That's the second time you've quoted from the Tsubasa-chan's database." She said slowly, trying to solve the puzzle set out before her. "And you act like you know Derek-sama.....Just who ARE you, anyway?"

"Well, that's a very good question." Kanzaki said calmly, crossing his arms. "But y'know, isn't it rude to ask someone else's name without introducing yourself, first? That's just basic etiquette, kiddo."

"....You wanna know who I am? Fine." She said, striking a pose. "I'm BWXAK-FEI-1 Fuyume-chan, eighth member of the Blue Wings! The people on that ship are my family, and the only way you'll get to them is over my cold, deactivated body!"

Kanzaki considered the AI girl's introduction for a minute. "So you really are a Blue Wings, huh?" He finally said, lifting off the ground slightly. "Then there's no reason you shouldn't know who I am. I guess they never got around to telling you about me...."

"Telling me about you?" Fuyume repeated, now getting confused at the cryptic way the conversation was turning. "Just who ARE you, anyway?"

"Kanzaki Seiyokaze, once known as "He Who Rides the Winds of the West". A long time ago, I fought alongside the Blue Wings, as one of them." Kanzaki took another bow to complete the introduction. "My ID code, if you're wondering, was BW-006."

The shock in Fuyume's reaction was obvious. "NANI?!? You're....You're a Blue Wings?!?" She asked, completely dumbstruck at the revelation.

Kanzaki grinned again, as he slowly reached behind his back and placed his hand on something. "Yep. And that means I'm your Senpai, y'know. So do what ol' Kanz-senpai tells you to, and take a nap."

With that, he quickly pulled the small gun he was holding out from behind his back and fired it, launching two electrical nodes attached by wires at the Fei-Yen. As soon as they hit the pink mech in the shoulder, a massive shock immediately ran straight through her. Fuyume managed to scream once, before the shock was too much, and the entire Fei-Yen automatically went into shutdown mode to prevent any further damage, and collapsed to the ground.

Kanzaki floated over to the fallen girl and calmly removed the two nodes from her, then discarded the weapon entirely. "Blue Wings School of Mecha Combat, Lesson Three." He said out loud as he picked up the Fei-Yen and slung it over his shoulder. "Always make sure you can back it up."

Without another word, he turned and started back towards the Aoi Tsubasa. Things seemed to be going perfectly so far. At this rate, it was only a matter of time until the next stage....

----

~Aoi Tsubasa Bridge~

----

Given the sudden revelation that the ship was now being boarded by an entire fighting force, the bridge had suddenly emptied out to just Alexis and Ryutaros, as sounds of a firefight could be heard outside. After a few minutes, the door suddenly opened as Derek and Ash backed into the room, firing down the hallway at the enemies outside. Quickly, they closed the door and sealed it shut, just as a hail of gunfire could be heard impacting against it.

"We're NOT charging them head on, with those kinds of numbers." Barona responded, dropping the empty clip out of his own handgun. "Dammit all! What the hell kind of armor do those bastards have, anyway? I unloaded a whole clip into one of them, and he didn't even flinch!"

"They're all over the ship, Derek-sama!" Alexis reported from her station. "Hangar, engine room, armory, even the kitchen! They've taken over everything but up here!" She turned around to look at him, obviously starting to panic. "What should we do, Derek-sama? We've never actually been boarded like this before! The only thing I could do to even slow them down was lock all the doors, and they just blasted right through them!"

"Dammit....They've got us good this time." Derek spoke with a pained expression on his face as he pondered the entire situation. "I'm sorry, guys. If I'd just been more careful, we wouldn't be in this mess right now...."

"My god, you're arrogant today. You really think this was all just your doing?" Ash said calmly, unimpressed by the new martyr complex. "Like it or not buddy, we've all had our hand in this. So before you go putting the entire blame on yourself, remember you do have comrades that aren't trying to kill you...yet."

"....Thanks, Ash. I think that was vaguely close enough to reassuring to help." Derek replied drily. "Alright, new plan then. Instead of waiting for them to break in and kill us, we'll take as many of them down with us as we can, starting with all of them. Sound like a fair quota?"

"Sounds fine to me." Ash replied with a shrug. "So, you going to let me at 'em, or did Fearless Leader come up with a new idea?"

"Well, I figured, if handguns aren't gonna cut it, we just need a bigger caliber bullet." Barona said casually as he walked over to his chair and pressed a button on the underside of the right arm, causing a hidden panel to open up at the foot of the chair, containing a rather serious looking rocket launcher. He hefted the weapon up and grinned rather evilly. "Or explosives. We haven't tried those yet."

"You're one crazy bastard, Derek." Ash grinned. "If we don't make it, drinks are on me."

"Thanks, but I'd rather not get to that point." Derek said as he checked his newly aquired heat, then positioned himself just out of line with the door. "Alright. Everyone get clear of the door. As soon as this goes off, the backsplash is gonna hurt." He waited until the other three had done so, then put his hand on the panel. "They stopped firing on the door....So let's do this before something else happens. One....two....THREE!!!!"

Slapping the door panel to open, Barona swung his ordinance up and into positon, then flipped past the door frame ready to fire....only to hesitate for a few seconds, as someone unexpected was standing between him and the enemy soldiers he planned on blowing to hell.

The woman, despite being 5'7" tall and petite, looked rather authoritative in a red officer's uniform, especially with the black trim. Her dark blue hair was about shoulder length, parted in the front so that a little bit fell just to the left side while the rest was kept back. There was a coldness in her equally azure eyes, which actually did far more to tell how serious she was than even the NDC insignia or the Lieutenant's ranking on her uniform. Of course, the gun in her hand showed she meant business as well.

As she watched Derek hesitate in front of her, Rena's mouth twisted into a rather hateful smile at him. "Nice to see you, Derek." She said coldly, as her finger tightened on the trigger.

A single shot rang out, and Derek fell backwards through the door, bleeding.

dragonmasterjb0: Apparently, in the new series, Lina is arrested at one point on charges of being Lina Inverse.

The rest of the party, in typical Slayers fashion, gives a reaction to the effect of "Sounds reasonable."

Once the truck left, Crisp gathered everyone up, and they headed out for the Earth Cradle. After getting off the transport, Matt's cellphone started beeping. He opened it, and after reading the alert, checked his new voicemail. He was expecting it, but not quite this soon.

"Um, Matt, it's Andy. Look, I know you've been dealing with some tough shit lately, with that museum ship clusterfuck, getting back to Earth by accident, and getting arrested, but I've got more bad news for ya. Your grandma disowned you, and nobody here at the estate is allowed to contact you at all. That phone of yours won't be good as of next month, since she's canceled your plan. Given the circumstances, I don't even know if you're still alive. If you are, then please, don't wait for me, because I can't wait for you without knowing if you'll come back. I'm sorry, baby, but for now, we're done. If we meet again, and are still single when we do, I hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive me enough to give me another chance. If we meet and we're not both single, I still hope you can forgive me for this. Even though we love each other, love just wasn't enough this time. Goodbye, Matt Archer. I'll always love you."

Matt noted that the timestamp on that message was just before the trial, and that month had already ended. Matt turned his phone off, then turned to Crisp and said "Excuse me, sir, but do we have any missions coming up within the next three days? If not, which way's the bar? I need a drink or five, the stronger the better."

Having gotten directions to the on-base bar, Matt headed over there. It was a seedy-looking place, but being on a military base, probably only looked bad. As he entered, he saw he was right. MPs everywhere meant any violent drunks would get chucked pretty quickly, but plenty of NDC soldiers were plastered. Of course, there was the occasional sober one, but they were quickly becoming knackered anyway. Matt took the last seat available at the bar, and ordered a double tequila on the rocks. He happened to glance to his left, and saw a familiar face. "Chris-onii-san?!"

"Oh, that? Yeah, her release was part of the conditions for me joining. Gai kicked me out, after Ash nearly killed me, but I got an offer during that fight with Yazan. Sadly, seems that Grandma's disowned me, so I had no home to return to anyway. A guy's gotta work to live, so I joined the Neo DC." Matt's drink arrived, and after quickly thanking the bartender, he downed the tequila in one gulp. He turned to the barkeep and said, "Another, please." Turning his attention back to Chris, he continued to tell him all about how Crisp made an offer to him while he was stuck in the Aile Strike, describe getting Double Rider Kicked in sufficient detail, and the immense relief he felt upon hearing of Chris's defection. "I was so glad I wouldn't have to fight you, onii-san!" By this time, he had downed two more double tequilas, and he was more than a bit tipsy. "And now to find you here! I'm so relieved! Not only am I disowned, but my love was forced to dump me or lose his job! This has been the worst week of my life!" That last word was drawn out in sobs as he clung to Chris's chest, sobbing buckets drunkenly and hysterically. Chris would be hard-pressed to remove Matt without causing him injury...

Matt's cries slowed to a sniffle, and he cheerfully shouted "Yatta! You're the best, onii-san!" He then wound up downing enough booze to knock out most grown men, and was more than a little buzzed. "Three cheers for Chris-onii-san!" A drunken cheer issued from the teen, who was now hugging Chris all over again, after getting him to have a few of his own, They laughed, and Matt cheered on Chris's obviously-exaggerated exploits, before eventually wearing himself out while glomping Chris for the thirtieth time that night. A soft snoring could be heard, and Matt's usually upset or stern face was strangely angelic when relaxed, and in many ways, he still looked like the child he was. Unconsciously, he snuggled into Chris's chest, feeling comforted by the older man's scent somehow, and drifting even deeper into a much-needed sleep.

Some distance away from the beleagured Tsubasa, the R-Eins hovers patiently, arms crossed as it watches the events unfolding from afar.

Inside the cockpit, the pilot makes a note of the time. By now, things should be getting interesting....

----

~Aoi Tsubasa Bridge~

----

As Derek fell to the ground, the only other sound that could be heard for several seconds was that of his rocket launcher hitting the floor nearby, while the rest of the crew watched in shocked silence. Even as he started to move, all he could do was clutch the bullet wound in his left shoulder in an agonized attempt to stop the bleeding, even as a crimson stream was already beginning to stain his duster sleeve on it's way down the rest of his arm.

Watching him the entire time, Rena stepped past the doorway, flanked by two of the oddly armored soldiers. "Almost three years, I've waited to do that." She said almost casually, glancing at the one on her left. "I have to admit, it felt a lot more satisfying than just punching him in the face."

The sound of his knuckles cracking could be heard clearly as Ash glared at Rena. "You little bitch." He almost spat out, as he started to advance.

Rena simply looked over at Ash and laughed harshly at the insult. "Coming from the likes of you, that's funny. Which trash heap did he dig you out of, anyway?"

"You know, as a rule, I've never hit a woman." Ash responded slowly, gritting his teeth. Flicking his left wrist, he jumped forward, throwing his fist at her face. "But you're the one who broke that rule!"

Even as Rena backed away and threw her arms up in reflex at the oncoming attack, one of the soldiers flanking her had a different idea. With lightning speed, it moved directly between her and the oncoming cyborg and, without even so much as flinching, took the entire force of the punch directly to the chest with a loud CLANG against it's armor.

Dumbfouded, the young cyborg couldn't help pulling his fist back and staring at the soldier in front of him. "Clang?" He asked, in shock. "You're not supposed to say clang!"

The soldier chose to respond by reaching up and punching Ash right across the face, sending him reeling to the ground, then trained it's rifle on him before he could get up and do anything else.

A few pieces of his helmet fell to the ground, giving Ash just enough room to spit out some blood. "Lucky shot, you metal bastard!"

From her safe distance away with Ryutaros, Alexis stared at the two soldiers. "Metal....soldiers? No.....robots!" She realized with a gasp. "They're robots...!!!"

From behind the two robotic soldiers, Rena kept her expression very carefully controlled. "Yes, they are." She said levelly, letting a smug grin show. "Now, if you're all done with the useless heroics, I'd like to ask you all to come with us." She then stepped aside as several more soldiers entered the room from behind her. "Or do we need to be even more persuasive?"

Coughing a little as he struggled to at least manage a sitting position, Derek shook his head. "No, I think the bulletproof soldiers and gunshot wound are convincing enough." He said slowly, picking his dialogue very carefully. "You put up a very good argument. I see no reason to dispute it."

"Good. Gentlemen, if you would."

Wordlessly, the soldiers gathered up the members of the crew and shuffled them out the door, without difficulty. Watching them leave, Rena finally allowed a large frown to show, as she began to follow them.

No one had said anything about robotic soldiers. And the commander still hadn't shown himself yet, either. Even if it was allowing her a chance at revenge, she couldn't help but feel uneasy about this whole situation....

----

~Aoi Tsubasa Brig~

Haruka Nagamoto was a lot of things, but oblivious wasn't one of them. From the first alarm to the sound of someone stomping up outside the door, she had been listening to what was going on and ready to react accordingly. Of course, the only thing she WASN'T expecting was for the door to open up and Derek to be nearly thrown in past her, bleeding from the shoulder and missing his visor. Nor was she expecting the others to follow, with Rena holding Derek's visor in her hand and several strange-looking soldiers keeping weapons drawn on them the entire time.

For that matter, Rena wasn't expecting to see her, either. "Haruka?" She asked cautiously. "You were in here?"

The former bartender shrugged. "We had a little...argument, he and I." She said simply, motioning her head back towards Derek.

"I see..." Was all Rena said, as she considered the situation a little. Finally, she shrugged. "Come with me, then. We should have a talk."

"Fine, but on one condition." Haruka agreed, then motioned over to Alexis. "She comes with us. I'm not leaving her here in this cell with just these three."

Another shrug. "Good point. Let's go then, both of you."

Both Haruka and Alexis headed out the door, the latter stopping long enough to cast a worried look back at the three guys behind her before she went. Once they were out, Rena looked back in at Derek and sneered. "As you sow, so shall you reap. Have fun down here."

With that last parting shot, she closed the door on them and locked it behind her.

Ash stared at the closed door for a minute, then punched the air nearby as hard as he could. "Who the hell was that, anyway?" He asked, looking over at Derek.

Sitting against the wall still holding his shoulder, Derek had his eyes closed, not that it really mattered. A sad little smirk crossed his face. "That...." He said slowly, "Was one of the most important people in my whole life."

"Oh." Was all Ash said, thinking about it. "....She's a total bitch."

Derek didn't respond, at first. For a minute, all he did was open his eyes. Sitting against the wall with his ruined eyes and his bleeding shoulder, Derek looked different from normal. For the first time since Ash had met him, he looked....defeated.

"Yeah.....I know."

----

~Aoi Tsubasa Bridge~

----

The Model W soldiers had secured the entire ship, and were now manning the stations on the bridge. They all stopped, however, as the door opened and the commanding officer stepped into the room.

"Sir. We have secured the ship, as commanded." One of the Ws reported with a salute. "Your orders?"

The commander smirked under his mask, sitting down in the chair recently vacated by the now-ousted captain of the vessel. "Head back to the Cradle." He ordered.

"As of right now, the Aoi Tsubasa belongs to us."

dragonmasterjb0: Apparently, in the new series, Lina is arrested at one point on charges of being Lina Inverse.

The rest of the party, in typical Slayers fashion, gives a reaction to the effect of "Sounds reasonable."

Chris didn't know where Matt was assigned to sleep, and it was kind of late, so he carried him back to his own quarters. Didn't realize how light he is! What do they feed these kids?! He deposited Matt on the bed, when he heard Matt murmur "Onii-san" in his sleep. Looking at the kid's slightly troubled face, and feeling rather exhausted himself, he got into bed himself, Matt being small enough that there was plenty of room for both of them. Matt, still sound asleep, subconsciously reacted to Chris's scent and presence, snuggling up to Chris, who he couldn't help but see as a surrogate older brother, relaxing even further as he felt Chris's arm rest on his back. The two stayed like that till morning, sleeping off their booze.

Morning came after several hours of rest, and Matt woke up first, thankful that his hangover was mild and would probably fix itself with a couple of glasses of water. He looked down at Chris, who was now snoring somewhat loudly. Onii-san must have brought me to his place last night! I was even more drunk than I thought, then! I may as well prepare some breakfast for him, and a hangover cure or three. Matt got out of bed, being careful not to disturb Chris, and headed over to the kitchen. He opened the pantry and fridge, finding some bread, eggs, milk, butter, and various seasonings. Perfect! I'll make some french toast, with fried egg on the side. Hard not to enjoy that! In relatively little time, the food was ready, so Matt turned down the flame on the two burners he was using, made a prairie oyster, then plated the food, set it on the table, and went to wake up Chris. "Hey, wake up, aniki-san! I made breakfast, and have something for that hangover ready for you too. Now come on, before it gets cold!"